So secret was this mission, the SAS seizure of a train to raid deep into enemy territory to liberate a concentration camp, that it wasn’t until 1968 – twenty-seven years after the formation of the SAS – that a short mention of it was made in the Rover and Wizard annual, under the headline ‘Who ... Damien Lewis – SAS: The Great Train Raid

In 1979, aged only seven, Monica Macias was sent from West Africa to the unfamiliar surroundings of North Korea by her father, the President of Equatorial Guinea, to be educated under the guardianship of his ally, Kim Il Sung. Within months, her father was executed in a military coup led by her cousin (the still ... Monica Macias – Black Girl from Pyongyang

Born into an impoverished aristocratic family, and raised on the family’s Minterne estate near Dorchester, Pamela Churchill Harriman became Winston Churchill’s daughter-in-law and trusted confidante, and American ambassador to Paris under Bill Clinton, one of the most influential women in twentieth century politics, dismissed by many as the greatest courtesan of the age. Bestselling author ... Sonia Purnell – Kingmaker: Pamela Churchill Harriman’s astonishing life of seduction, intrigue and power

Close to Adam Nicolson’s home in Sussex, there is a forgotten field overrun by bracken and thicketed by brambles. It is the haunt of deer and many birds – nightingales, the occasional cuckoo, ravens, robins, owls and in summer the sweet-singing warblers that come north from Africa to breed in English woods. Adam Nicolson wanted ... Adam Nicolson – Bird School

Ray Mears has accumulated his tracking skills over 35 years of practice in the field, all over the world, and this book will be the first authoritative but accessible and practical manual. An essential guide for enthusiasts who want to discover the outdoors in a new way, and read the secret stories of animals and ... Ray Mears – Outdoor Tracking Handbook

The first memoir from one of British cycling’s most enigmatic characters. In the summer of 2020 sportswriter David Walsh asked Pippa York if she’d be his travelling companion for the Tour de France. The deal was that he would sort out the logistics beforehand, the hotels, the transport details and she would do the day-to-day ... David Walsh and Pippa York – The Escape: The Tour, The Cyclist and Me

Christopoher Somerville has covered the length and breadth of the UK on foot, and has written and broadcast about its history, landscape, wildlife and people for over 25 years. In this extensive new volume, he selects his top 200 routes from his hugely popular Times column, A Good Walk. More than just a basic guidebook, ... Christopher Somerville – Britain’s Best Walks

In a thrilling narrative account, Helen Carr sheds new light on a pivotal period of English history in the first book to cover the whole of the fourteenth century in over thirty years. Beginning with the death of Edward I in 1307, and ending with the deposition of Richard II in 1399, Sceptred Isle is ... Helen Carr – Sceptred Isle – A New History of the Fourteenth Century

The villagers of Fleetcombe like to think of it as one of the most picturesque spots in Dorset: two pubs, a small playground, enough gorgeous cottages to keep a thatcher in business. It’s the last place you’d expect a grisly murder. But a body is discovered, tied to a chair in the middle of a ... Chris Chibnall – Death at the White Hart

In Rome Father Asser is waiting to die. His idealism has landed him in a papal prison on false charges of heresy, but then salvation arrives in an unexpected form. Cardinal Balotelli also dreams of a better Europe, free from the ravages of the Norlanders. He has an important job for Asser, one that will ... Sir Tony Robinson – The House of Wolf

Harry Mount, the Editor of The Oldie, will be talking to AN Wilson the award winning author of 60 histories, novels and biographies on subjects ranging from Queen Victoria, Charles Darwin and Jesus to John Betjeman, Leo Tolstoy and Adolf Hitler, and one of The Oldie’s regular columnists. His latest book, Goethe: His Faustian Life, reveals ... The Oldie Event: When Harry met Andrew – Harry Mount in conversation with A N Wilson

An explosive memoir from the heart of Westminster, lifting the lid on some of the leadership battles that have defined British politics for a decade and a half during the eras of five Conservative prime ministers – Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak. From coalition to Brexit, Covid to Partygate, Trussonomics to the 2024 election, ... Sir Graham Brady – Kingmaker – Secrets, Lies and the Truth about Five Prime Ministers